ROCKETS DEAL PAUL FOR WESTBROOK
Rockets produce a Harden-Westbrook sequel, trade Paul to Thunder
LAS VEGAS — James Harden and Russell Westbrook are teammates again, this time with MVP awards and with a Rockets team desperate to reshape itself in helping them take the final step they had not when they were together.
In a summer of stunners that have rocked the NBA, the Rockets on Thursday pulled off what could be the largest of them all. According to two individuals with knowledge of the deal, the Rockets traded for Westbrook, the league’s 2017 MVP, and reunited him with Harden, its 2018 MVP, dramatically transforming their backcourt in the process.
The Rockets will send Chris Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder along with
first-round drfat picks in 2024 and 2026 and the right to swap picks in two additional drafts. ESPN initially reported the trade.
The picks going to the Thunder in 2024 and 2026 are protected only if they fall among the top four. In 2021, the Thunder may swap their pick, the Heat’s pick or the Clippers’ pick for the Rockets’ pick.
As recently as Tuesday, the Rockets believed a deal for Westbrook, an eight-time All-Star, was almost impossible, a person with knowledge of talks said. But Westbrook and Harden strongly favored the move and a chance to play in a backcourt together, as they did for Harden’s first three NBA seasons in Oklahoma City, a person with knowledge of their thinking said.
Though the contracts of Westbrook and Paul matched, there had been an expectation that the Thunder would need a third team to take the 34-year-old Paul, rather than have him as a part of their rebuilding. When the deal could be made with just the Rockets and Thunder, it came together rapidly Thursday afternoon.
With the move, the Rockets and Thunder have pulled off their second blockbuster trade. After its 2012 NBA Finals appearance, Oklahoma City sent Harden to Houston that October.
The Thunder now have 10 firstround picks through the 2026 draft. The Rockets, with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant no longer together in Golden State, become the only team with two MVPs.
The mix of Harden and Westbrook in one backcourt will mean considerable adjustments for both — and possibly a Rockets offense that last season took more 3pointers than shots inside the arc.
Harden, who led the NBA in scoring the past two seasons and by the widest margin since 1963 last season, and Westbrook are at their best with the ball in their hands initiating the offense rather than working as catch-and-shoot guards next to a playmaker.
Harden, the MVP winner or runner-up in four of the past five seasons, was Westbrook’s predecessor as the NBA assists leader. Harden led the league when Rockets coach Mike DAntoni moved him to point guard before the 2016-17 season, and Westbrook has been No. 1 in each of the last two seasons.
Anticipating the June 30 opening of the free agency period, the Rockets sought another star to bolster their rotation, hoping to land Jimmy Butler, a move that would have required dealing starters Eric Gordon and Clint Capela. That failed, and 11 days after free-agent negotiations officially began, the Rockets had not made any additions, reaching agreement only with three players — Gerald Green, Danuel House, Jr. and Austin Rivers — off last season’s bench.
With the Lakers and Clippers dramatically upgraded into championship contenders and the Nuggets and Jazz making significant additions, pressure had increased just to keep pace.
Though Westbrook cannot be considered an ideal fit, he was an All-NBA player last season and is expected to help extend Harden’s window as the top player on a championship-level team.
Though far from the sort of perimeter shooter ideal next to Harden, as Paul was in his first season with the Rockets, Westbrook is among the best rebounding guards in NBA history and joins a team whose greatest weakness throughout last season was defensive rebounding.
Paul, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and multiple teammates have vehemently denied there was a rift between Paul and Harden, though confrontations were not unusual.
Westbrook met with the Thunder front office this week to say he would welcome a trade following Paul George’s departure to the Clippers. But an individual with knowledge of the talks said Westbrook initially broached the subject after OKC’s season ended with a first-round loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Paul will return to Oklahoma City, where he played for the then-Hornets after Hurricane Katrina.
Westbrook, 30, is signed for four more seasons, one season longer than Paul, with a player option worth $47.1 million in the final season, 2022-23.
Westbrook has averaged 23 points, seven rebounds and 8.4 assists in his 11 seasons, averaging a triple double in each of the past three seasons. He has averaged at least 10.3 assists in the past four seasons, leading the NBA in the last two.
His shooting, however, has declined. Westbrook made just 29 percent of his 3-pointers last season and now moves to a team set NBA records for 3s attempted and made.
Since Durant left them for Golden State, the Thunder haven’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs in the past three seasons, including a loss to the Rockets when Westbrook averaged 37.4 points per game.
Paul, 34, averaged a career-low 15.6 points last season on a careerworst 41.9 percent shooting, though his 8.2 assists per game led the Rockets. In his first season with them, he averaged 18.6 points on 46 percent shooting, helping the Rockets get to the Western Conference finals before he went out with a strained hamstring in Game 5.
The Rockets signed Paul to a four-year max contract after that season, but his play fell off as he came back from another hamstring injury.
With Westbrook, the Rockets believe they have increased their championship chances in the latest all-in move in a summer filled with them.